Advocate Group LLC Has $638,000 Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Advocate Group LLC cut its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,881 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 172 shares during the quarter. Advocate Group LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $638,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Union Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 980.0% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 162 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.1 %

Darden Restaurants stock traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $167.15. The stock had a trading volume of 975,000 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,388,895. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.39. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $133.36 and a fifty-two week high of $176.84. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $167.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $157.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.96 billion, a PE ratio of 19.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.26.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.63 by ($0.01). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.24% and a return on equity of 49.94%. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.02 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.34 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 61.43%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total transaction of $1,115,229.06. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,124,959.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 6,831 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.26, for a total transaction of $1,115,229.06. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,124,959.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP John W. Madonna sold 3,836 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.80, for a total value of $628,336.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,141,849.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,340 shares of company stock valued at $3,013,601 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 13th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $192.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.85.

Darden Restaurants Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates full-service restaurants in the United States and Canada. It operates under Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze, Eddie V's Prime Seafood, and Capital Burger brand names.